European Leaders Signal To Give Turkey A Date To Start Accession Talks

ISTANBUL (CIHAN) - European leaders signaled that Turkey will receive a date in December to start accession talks.
German Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder said that Turkey has fulfilled the preconditions to start accession talks with the EU and the EU must fulfill its promise to Turkey. He said the EU accession talks must begin after December.
Noting that Turkey's example is the best answer to people who said that a democracy cannot exist in a Muslim country, Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi said that Turkey is near to EU membership.
UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair praised the determination of Turkey to be a democratic country and said, "Turkey proved wrong the assertions, that some civilizations and races cannot live with democracy. We see the developments in Turkey and other countries. In the future we will see it in Afghanistan."
Other leaders attending the summit praised Turkey's success at the NATO Summit Organization and the security measures taken for the summit.